The Ceiling of the Guard Room at Modave Castle

1.5 hours south-east of Brussels and 45 minutes south-west of Liège is where you will find Modave Castle. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful castles in Belgium. It has an indirect link with the Palace of Versailles. Renkin Sualem designed a water-powered pump to bring water up to the castle. This machine served as the prototype for the Machine de Marly, which was used to pump water from the River Seine to the Palace of Versailles. Unfortunately, neither the Modave nor the Marly machines remain. However, the castle still houses another lesser-known marvel: the ceiling of the guard room.

It is erroneously called the 'Guard Room'. This is because of its size and location at the entrance to the castle. It never actually served this purpose, as there were no guards anymore in the 17th century. It is simply a large reception room used to welcome visitors. The so-called 'guards' hall' and the current façade were both built by Jean-Gaspard-Ferdinand, Count of Marchin. He had a brilliant military career and received numerous decorations. This included being made Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1658. He retired to Château de Martin. He invested all his savings in the construction of the current château. To impress his visitors, he had his family tree painted in stucco on the ceiling of the entrance hall.

The family tree was created by stucco artist Jan Christiaan Hansche. The count's family ancestry over five generations is traced. The count's coat of arms is at the bottom of the tree, surrounded by the count himself and three other knights in armour. These are rendered in high relief and appear to be emerging from the ceiling. Marie de Balzac d'Entragues, the count's wife, is determined to match her husband's achievements. The ancestral lineage of her father's family is proudly displayed in the room opposite the entrance, with a majestic depiction of four unicorns adorning the ceiling. The château features more rooms decorated with Hansche stucco work, showcasing a variety of plant and mythological motifs. Two of these ceilings are dated '1666': this date, or 1667, is the probable year in which the family trees were created. However, it should be noted that the ceiling in the guards' hall and the vestibule, which feature the family trees, were painted in the 19th century. They were originally white, like the rest of the stucco ceilings in the château, in keeping with 17th-century tastes.

Spanning 135 m², the family tree in the Guard Room is unparalleled in Europe. The ceilings created by Hansche are among the most remarkable collections of 17th-century stucco ceilings preserved in Belgium, in terms of quality, surface area, and state of preservation.